Meeting of the General Coordination Council of the Union of Catholic Apostolate, Rome, 24th to 28th May 2012
To all of the members and collaborators of the Union
Heartfelt greetings from the Eternal City!
We, the new GCC of the Union, met for the first time in this period of Pentecost during our Jubilee Year of the 50th anniversary of the Canonisation of St. Vincent Pallotti, in order to reflect on, discern and make decisions about the life and structures of the Union in the light of the deliberations and decisions of its Third Ordinary General Assembly in January of this year.
We would like to begin by thanking the previous Council for all the work done up to now, which has provided us with a rich treasure on which we can build.
We also felt very much our need to start afresh, to make a new beginning, to grow together into our task at this particular time in the life of the Union. Embarking on this process, we were aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit, who inspired us to talk freely and openly, allowing us to express our thoughts and desires honestly in our sharing and in our praying. Thus, we grew together as members of one family.
We appreciated the opportunity to participate in two truly inspiring events of the UAC in Rome – the Pentecost vigil at the Church of Regina degli Apostoli, via Ferrari, and the Pentecost Mass incorporating the final profession of two of our Sisters of the Catholic Apostolate (CSAC) at the Church of SS. Salvatore in Onda. Both were precious moments of being together, united in prayer in the Cenacle.
In our sharing, we were aware of the growing reality of the Union and saw new necessities that are being called for by this reality. On the one hand, we realised what a gift the UAC is for the Church and the world of today – a gift for which our world cries out in this time of the New Evangelization: we are called as UAC to go out from the Cenacle and to share our experience with others in word and in loving service. On the other hand, we were determined that our meeting would not simply respond to this call by offering abstract dreams or pious wishes, but rather we felt the need to try to strengthen the foundations already laid in the life and structures of the Union. We discerned and decided on concrete initiatives in the areas of leadership, formation, finance, the General Secretariat and our sense of being Union.
From this our experience, we want to encourage each and every member and collaborator of the Union to take on their full responsibility on this path of mutual love – by coming together – perhaps beginning with only “two or three” (Mt 18,20) – sharing openly and thus growing more and more into one family. As Saint Vincent Pallotti said, we are called to take on responsibility for the Union as if we ourselves were the founders, propagators, preservers and intercessors (cf. Nella mia morte, no. 9).
We thank you for your prayerful communion and support during our time of meeting. In this Jubilee Year, we ask the Holy Spirit “to let the holiness of God shine forth” in each of our lives and in the life of the Union as a whole.
The members of the General Coordination Council of the Union
